On Fate and Free Will
Is Our Life Predetermined Or Can We Create Our Own Path?
Acceptance or Fight. Fate and Destiny were key concepts in ancient worldviews. However, the response to them was not the same, depending on whether or not they believed in a higher power above them. Picture: Atropos, cutting the thread of life and personifying the final triumph of death.
After discovering the deficiencies and limitations of our current state of being and its causes, it is only logical to ask ourselves: are we able to do something about it? This, in turn, is similar to asking: do we have free will?
Traditional worldviews provide different answers revolving around notions such as Fate and destiny, as well as their greater or lesser importance. Fate is defined as a divinely inspired power that pre-determines the course of events in an unavoidable way. It is based on the belief that there exists a natural order in the cosmos.
Astrology, or the influence of the stars in our lives, is a natural consequence of studying this order. It is prominently featured in different systems of thought, especially in the most esoteric ones (e.g., Hermeticism), and is based on the theory of correspondences between all levels of reality.
A different doctrine with similar consequences is that of causal determinism. It includes, for example, the non-theistic Buddhist concept of dependent origination, which is a key doctrine shared by all Buddhist schools.
According to it, all phenomena (dharmas) come to be as a consequence and in complete dependence upon other previous phenomena, following a universal law. For traditions that believe in karmic cycles, for example, the amount of agency that we possess during a specific incarnation in this world is further limited by the consequences of our actions in past incarnations.
A science-based worldview that advocates for a hard materialistic determinism, in addition, despite being a completely different worldview, would have a similar outlook on this dilemma between Freedom and Necessity.
On Fatalism
More interesting is the question regarding how to deal with Fate in worldviews that believe in it. Should we accept it? Confront it? This, in turn, depends on whether we believe Fatalism to be true or not.
Fatalism is the belief that, not only does Fate exist, but also that it is immutable and no human action can alter it. We are the spectators, not the active agents, of our own lives.
Followers of the concept of a fixed Fate include those of ancient religions such as the Summerian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman and Norse ones. The Moirai, Parcae or Norns in Greek, Roman and Norse religions, respectively, are common symbolic beings representing a Fate that cannot be modified nor challenged even by the gods.
The concept of a fixed Fate is also discussed by Stoicism and is accepted in certain aspects of Hinduism, too (caste system).
A theistic version of Fatalism is especially important in Islam. It is not however, a biblical dotrine.A In Christianity, it is emphasized that we have the free will needed to battle the temptations and tendencies of our fallen nature, thus being capable of working out our own salvation.
A. “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
― James 1:13-14. New King James Version
B. “For the theourgoí do not fall under the fate-governed herd.”
― Chaldean Oracles (E. des Places). Fragment 153 (Paris, 1971)
Rebellion Against Fate
Worldviews that believe in intermediate evil gods between us and the real God or highest reality (with Gnosticism being the paradigmatic example) are more inclined to believe that confronting Fate and the current order of things is justified B. It may even be the only moral choice for such believers.
Non-theistic systems that believe in an impersonal First Principle or Force that can be manipulated for both good and evil (e.g., different modern occultist schools) can also fall into this category.
In such views, given that anyone with the correct knowledge or skill can tap into primordial forces and become an unjust tyrant, the fight against a “false destiny” imposed by such a tyrant would be justified.
Absolute Determinism is Untraditional
According to most traditional systems of thought, however, it is a misconception to believe that we do not have even a modicum of free will. Material causes cannot create thought, and even if we are conditioned by them, we are never compelled. Therefore, we are ultimately free to choose the Good, even if it implies fighting against powerful influences (e.g., animal-like instincts).
When the assertion that we are not free is made, it merely means that we do not choose the Good already known to the Intellect, instead being overcome by those influences.
Figure 1. Depiction of The Three Fates, by Alexander Rothaug. Note the symbols for Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end), symbolizing their absolute power above both gods and mankind, and over the different stages of life of the latter.
Providence, Will and Destiny: Man as Mediator Between Heaven and Earth
In traditional worldviews1See for example The Great Triad of René Guénon and the works of Fabre d’Olivet on Pythagoreanism and Chinese metaphysics., all action takes place through the powers of Providence, Will or Destiny.
On the macrocosmic side, this is translated in that man´s will is the mediator between Providence (free Nature) and Destiny (Nature bound by Necessity, which acts following its own laws). Said in other terms, man is the mediator between Heaven and Earth, with Providence (the Principles or Ideas of the Divine Mind, the only truly free existent) acting on Nature through him as an intermediary.
On the microcosmic scale, on the other hand, man´s will is the central middle ground that links and unifies the intellectual (Spirit), psychic (Soul) and instinctive (Body) aspects of his being.
By choosing the side of Providence, man becomes aligned with Freedom, detaching himself from bounded natural law and walking towards spiritual realization. As Guénon stated: “In uniting itself to Providence and consciously collaborating with it, the human will can become a counter-balance to destiny and finally neutralize it.”
This alignment of mankind´s will with Providence (pole of spiritual Unity) is what defines a good action. Its alignment with Nature (pole of material Multiplicity), on the contrary, constitutes vice and depravity.
The Purification of the Will: The Common First Step in All Mystical Paths
A necessary first stage of the spiritual path, then, is the purification of the will. This process, in turn, requires inner vigilance to see and counter every pernicious influence that conditions it.
Eventually, these intruders masking our true Self become identified and controlled, the Intellect (Nous) becomes able to discern what is Good and, only then, the will becomes liberated, free to choose and follow it. This is accomplished by “cleaning” our mind and awakening to our spiritual capacities.
Figure 2. Nornir, by J. L. Lund. A depiction of
the three Norns that decide the fates (Wyrd) of everyone in Norse mythology. They were seen as either benevolent or malevolent, and represented the past, present and future of each one. In other words, they represented time.
Is Ultimate Reality Free? Necessity and Contingency Against Willed Creation
The Notion of Freedom in the Religions of the One
Existence, for the religions of the One, is at the same time contigent and necessary. As René Guénon explained:
“We said earlier that every possibility of manifestation must be manifested for the very reason that it is what it is, namely, a possibility of manifestation, so that manifestation is necessarily implied in principle by the very nature of particular possibilities. Thus manifestation, which as such is purely contingent, is nonetheless necessary in its principle, just as, although transitory in itself, it nevertheless possesses an absolutely permanent root in universal Possibility, this moreover being what constitutes all its reality.”
― René Guénon. The Multiple States of the Being.
Necessity and Contingency, p.86
From there, Guénon derives its proof regarding the existence of freedom. Since everything that is possible is real, freedom must also be real:
“To prove freedom metaphysically, without encumbering oneself with all the usual philosophical arguments, it is sufficient to establish that it is a possibility, since the possible and the real are metaphysically identical. To this end we may first define freedom as the absence of constraint […]”
― René Guénon. The Multiple States of the Being.
The Metaphysical Notion of Freedom, p.90
In Guénon´s perennialist worldview, freedom is synonimous with the highest reality, All-Possibility, ultimate Unity C, which is free precisely because it is everything, being unlimited and containing it all.
Paradoxically, given that All-Possibility (the One, the Absolute) is compelled to manifest it all, it is therefore not free.
C. “[…]As soon as there is multiplicity, as is the case in the order of particular existences, it is evident that there can no longer be a question of any but relative freedom.[…]
[…]A being will be free to the extent that it participates in this unity; in other words, it will be the more free as it has more unity in itself, or as it is more “one”.[…]
[…] Whereas a relative freedom belongs to every being under any condition whatsoever, this absolute freedom can only belong to the being that, liberated from the conditions of manifested existence, whether individual or even supra-individual, has become absolutely “one”, at the degree of pure Being, or “without duality”, if its realization surpasses Being. It is then, but then only, that one can speak of a being “that is a law unto itself” because this being is then entirely identical with its sufficient reason, which is both its principial origin and its final destiny.”
― René Guénon. The Multiple States of the Being, pp. 91, 94-95
The Notion of Freedom in Christianity
For Christianity, on the contrary, given that it rejects this dialectical opposition between Unity and Plurality, the solution is not found in neither absolute homogeneity nor in unchecked multiplicity.
The Christian Trinity, by being both One God and Many (three) Persons, is a personal deity that trascends this dichotomy and therefore does not need every possibility to become manifested. Instead, it willingly (and lovingly) conceives2Through the Logos and His Logoi, God´s thoughts and the Reasons for the existence of everything. and creates. This has serious implications:
- The Tri-Une non-dialectical personal God of Christianity is free, able to create instead of being compelled to emanate.
- Everything in creation can thus be said to be loved, even in its current fallen state, as it was conceived and willed by a God who cares.
The Orthodox concept of deification (Theosis), in addition, states that in the Eschaton man becomes One due to God becoming “All in all”. Thus, a personal God makes it possible for us to retain our personality, becoming unique deified personifications (hypostases or particular modes of existence) of the common God we will carry within.
Intead of being disolved into a single homogeneous Monad, a communion3Including a communion of will. in love in which we become unique images of the One God. Only with Him as the center of our being is man “One”, and the one who achives this is said to have attained a Holy or True Will.
Symbolism representing Fate: the Wheel of Fortune, the Zodiac and symbols representing the Moirai, Parcae or Norns (thread, spindle, scroll, scales).
Recommended Reading
- The Multiple States of the Being. René Guénon.
- The Great Triad. René Guénon.
- Orthodox Theology: an Introduction. Vladimir Lossky.
Notes
- See for example The Great Triad of René Guénon and the works of Fabre d’Olivet on Pythagoreanism and Chinese metaphysics.
- Through the Logos and His Logoi, God´s thoughts and the Reasons for the existence of everything.
- Including a communion of will.
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Metaphysics: On Salvation or Liberation
Now that we have discussed how traditional worldviews conceive Fate and Destiny and what can be done against them, we are in a good position to answer the last question that each of these views tackle: what can we achieve through our spiritual efforts?
The answers provided vary, but can be summarized by two main core ideas: do we all eventually go back to complete Unity, merging into the Absolute? Or do we become deified and elevated to godhood by a personal God who shares everything that He is with us out of love?
In other words, do we go back to the One, or is it possible to transcend the dichotomy between the One and the Many?
- 1See for example The Great Triad of René Guénon and the works of Fabre d’Olivet on Pythagoreanism and Chinese metaphysics.
- 2
- 3Including a communion of will.
